Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club teams up with Shining Stars program to host event for special needs children and their families

By DANIELLE SANTOLA

November 27, 2017 at 12:53 AM

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston’s Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club, which sets aside one day each quarter to perform acts of charity within the local community, joined Livingston's Adaptive Recreation Department and its Shining Stars families for a morning of motorcycle fun last weekend at Monmouth Court.

Families participating in Shining Stars, an adaptive after-school program for children with special needs, had an opportunity to the climb on the bikes, turn on the lights, sound the horns and take pictures. According to members of the Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club, they were proud to provide a hands-on event that brought smiles to all the children, their families and club members.

“The Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club contacted me because they were interested in doing some community service,” Jennifer Quirk, Livingston’s Adaptive Recreation Coordinator. “We decided to organize this event where the men in the club put their bikes in a circle, they cooled them down and then the kids were able to come climb on the bikes, touch the bikes, ask questions and look at the different colors and styles and just have fun at a family event.”

According to Quirk, whose job it is to organize activities for Livingston families with special-needs children, participating parents enjoyed the fact that this was a fun event for the whole family and brought the community together.

“It was different and it was a nice opportunity to gather outside our [weekly] sports class on Saturday before the holiday and just enjoy each other’s company,” said Quirk.

Quirk was especially grateful to her student volunteers, who arrived early to help set up and interacted with the families and children throughout the event. Quirk added that the volunteers are a great asset to the special-needs program and that the children enjoy spending time with the volunteers.

In addition to one of the Horseneck members who donated snacks, Livingston’s Chocolate Works donated 36 chocolate motorcycle pops.

“For our first event with the Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club it was well received in the community and I would like to be able to work with them again to provide another wonderful, community-based event for our special-needs children and their families,” said Quirk. “Thank you to the men at the club who took their time to participate in this event with their bikes, the donation of snacks and to Chocolate Works for their donation.”

The Shining Stars program is looking forward to adding more community events to the calendar in order to provide the opportunity for children with special needs to be exposed to many different activities.

Contact Quirk at jquirk@livingstonnj.org or call the Livingston Senior and Community Center at 973-535-7925 ext 403 and ask to speak to the Adaptive Recreation department to set up an event or become a sponsor for an event.

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